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Chavez orders supporters to give away possessions
Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has told his supporters to give away possessions they do not need as he wants only true socialists to be members of a new, single party he is forming. "Whoever has a fridge they do not need, put it out in the village square. Whoever has a truck, a fan or a cooker they do not need, give something away. Let's not be selfish. I demand you do it," Mr Chavez said at a milk producing co-operative. Mr Chavez, who calls capitalism an evil, said he would donate £127,000 of his The president, who calls the Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, denies he is turning the OPEC nation of avid consumers into another communist state, as his critics say. But since coming to power in 1999, Mr Chavez has proposed increasingly radical steps to drive Venezuela toward a socialist state and, after a landslide re-election last year, he declared himself a communist for the first time. Mr Chavez, who rules by decree, has focused his political ambitions this year on forming a single party from the hodge-podge of affiliations that have supported him in what he says is his crusade against United States' imperialism. Officials say millions of followers have signed up to be members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela that Mr Chavez plans to use as a platform to govern for decades. "If I were to end up with only five people signing up out of those five million, I'd be happier," Mr Chavez said. "I only want to be accompanied by true socialists." Opponents of Mr Chavez complain that his constant railing against American-promoted consumerism contrasts with the behaviour of senior government officials who can be seen at fancy restaurants or riding around in expensive cars. Posted by: Seafarious 2007-06-12 |
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